Harry Potter's Magical Summer
by TheDictionator
Summary: A summer trip leads Harry and Hermione into a discovery of hidden passions and secrets they held for each other.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Rowling owns something to do with this…. I own nothing. sobs

A hot summer day, Harry once again was locked inside his room. Hedgwig was at Hermione's place so the poor owl could fly freely instead of being locked inside a caged prison. He was bored out of his mind. Uncle Vernon had locked everything from Hogwarts in his 'old' room so Harry could not reach it. All Harry could do was lie on his bed waiting for the days to pass by.

Being upstairs, the room seemed to be the hotspot of the house where most of the heat gathers. 'No wonder they gave me Dudley's room. He probably couldn't stand the humid weather. He closed his eyes as he laid back on his bed with the pillow providing a wedge of comfort between his back and the wall. He placed his hands to cushion his head and a blissful smile lit his mouth.

An image of a beautiful girl appeared in his thoughts. Long golden brown locks brushing against her shoulders, the once over-grown buck teeth now trimmed to perfection, the warm inviting brown eyes that beckoned him to approach her, and the soft white creamy skin that tempted him to touch. The way she said his name in soft, gentle tones revealing so much of her emotions, she was perfect to him.

He pretended to hate and become annoyed by her constant lectures and long explanations about how the world of magic works. In fact, he loved it. Her voice strong and confident and the way her eyes light up as she delves deeper into the topic. The strong feelings she place behind the words as she tries to say everything she can about the subject. Harry was always captivated by her. To him, she could do no wrong.

A peck on the window alerted him to open his eyes and sit up. He quickly opened the window and grabbed the owl before Uncle Vernon stormed up the stairs demanding what caused the noise. After explaining that it was a tree banging against the window, did Uncle Vernon leave.

As soon as the door closed and the lock went back into place, Harry looked down at the hidden owl who wasn't too happy being stuffed under the blankets so suddenly. It ruffled its feathers then pecked at his hand. "I'm sorry." Harry apologized then noticed a letter attached to its leg.

He grabbed it happy to receive mail for the first time in the summer. He read the heading of neat handwriting. His heart skipped a beat, Hermione had written to him! Sweat formed not from the heat but nervousness on his upper lip. With shaky hands, he opened the letter to reveal a short, brief message.

_Harry, _

_I am inviting you on a trip to Swizterland in hopes to get away from your relatives. We will come by as soon as you finish this letter._

The door bell rang. 'That was quick' Harry thought as he quickly began stuffing what little he had into a bag. He quickly emptied his cache under the floorboards as he heard voices speaking and Vernon's flustered response. Footsteps alerted him that he was coming. Positioning himself in front of the door, bag in hand the door unlocked and opened. Before him stood Vernon and the girl of his dreams.

She was so beautiful. The wide grin she greeted him with and the sweet perfume she wore intoxicated Harry. He felt like he was on cloud nine. "Come on, Harry." Her angelic voice sounded in his ears. The beautiful melody that only she could possess. Like in a trance, Harry was walking out of his room as Hermione guided him downstairs and out to the car. When the car door closed, did he realize he was holding hands and they were driving away as Vernon was purple in the face screaming.

The entire trip to the airport, they talked about everything and anything. Topics were wide as they kept staring in each other's eyes sending out secret messages that the other received. Her parents smiled at each other seeing how much in love their daughter was with Harry. And it was equally obvious how much Harry loved her. The ride to the airport and to Switzerland was long but neither Harry or Hermione noticed.

'I'm going to do it.' Harry decided. 'I'm going to tell her how much I love her. The only reason I was after Cho was because I thought she would never like someone like me. Why I went for Ginny was because I wanted to put Ron's fears to rest that I wasn't after her. But now, I don't care. Ron can go to hell for all I care. I love Hermione and I am not going to waste anymore time.' Harry tightened his fist in determination. Yes, this summer he was going to confess to Hermione his feelings for her.

AN: How is harry really going to confess? What will hermione's reaction be? Will love truly find a way through or is it all really just a fairy tale? I need 5 reviews to continue!

AN: I am a friend of thedictionator. I write the story. I hope you enjoy and review like you did with my good buddy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Rowlings owns Harry Potter**

Snow fell like sheets on the scenery of mountains and cottages. Mr. Granger parked the rented van by the main lodge to check in. Harry chanced a peek over at Hermione and his breath was taken away. She was a picture of perfection. She gazed out the window with a serene expression, a small smile curving the ends of her lips. He glanced down at her hands, elegantly crossed on her lap.

For the first time, he noticed how her hands were well manicured and the fingers were long and narrow with the nails perfectly curved. Her cheeks had a reddish tint adding to her beauty, though he guessed, it could be due to the chill in the van. Harry wiped his hands on his pant legs. He wanted to reach out and touch her hand again. To feel the small warmth of it in his grasp but the close proximity to her parents kept him restrained and apart.

She turned to face him as excitement lit her eyes, "I can't believe we finally are here! It has been a while since I last skied." She beamed at Harry and he couldn't keep the smile from forming.

"From the looks of it, skiing must be easy." Harry claimed cockily, puffing out his chest in hopes to impress her. Hermione raised an eyebrow before letting out a short snicker.

"You really think so? Have you ever skied before, Harry?" She inquired, already knowing the answer.

"No, but how hard can it be? You just slide down a hill and while doing fancy moves. Can't be that tough." He mustered, suddenly studying the lodge instead of her.

"Right…" Hermione chuckled. "Just promise me you won't go and hurt yourself." She quipped. Harry just smirked confidently. "We'll start on the bunny hills."

"Bunny hills are for kids, Hermione. Don't worry, I can ski any slope you can." Before Hermione could voice her concern, her father returned and started the engine. The van drove toward the housing lodges.

Once parked, Harry and Hermione immediately hopped out of the van. Her father fumbling with the keys to the condo and her mother fretting over the luggage, they managed to slip away unnoticed. Crunching over the fresh snow, they stopped just before a rocky ledge, where the mountain dropped off and the heavy clouds almost drifted into the cliff side. Staring out over the ledge they both drank in the view in a moment's peace. "It's so beautiful here." Hermione commented to the approaching mists.

"Yeah." Harry thought getting caught up in the moment. "Just like you." He glanced over at her again, and began to shiver, just now realizing his light old jacket was not really as warm as he needed.

Hermione eyes revealed shock, "What did you say?" She had to make sure what he said wasn't just her imagination.

"Ummm, I didn't say anything." Harry began to lose his nerve. Hermione obviously wasn't going to let it pass.

"What did you say, Harry?" She pressed. Harry couldn't believe he blurted out what was on his mind.

'Damn, I didn't mean to vocalize my thoughts. Nice going, Harry.' He took a step back.

"Kids!" A voice behind them yelled. "The door's open!" With a relieved smile, Harry darted inside the lodge.

Throughout the rest of the evening, Harry avoided being alone with Hermione. He managed to stay near her parents, stoking the fire they had started. Hermione looked annoyed but didn't say anything. 'I don't think now would be a good time to confess. I'll just wait until she is in a better mood.' He thought grimly. Harry played a game of chess with her father to help pass the time, having some small talk.

He had hoped that Hermione would get tired and retire to her room. 'If I have to, I will keep playing this until tomorrow!'

"That was a good challenge. I haven't met too many young men who know how to properly play chess." Mr. Granger chuckled.

"Yeah, Ron taught me a lot at Hogwarts."

"Not too bad at all. It's getting pretty late. We should hit the hay for an early day of skiing." Mr. Granger stood up. Harry helped him put away the chess board and pieces then wished the Grangers a good night. Seeing Hermione was not going to move with her eyes on him, Harry knew he had to quickly make his escape.

He was not going to allow himself be cornered by her. He stood up and quickly made his way to his room. "Harry." Her voice was quiet but held volumes.

"Sorry, Hermione, but do you mind if we continue this tomorrow? I am really tired." He faked an exaggerated yawn. Hermione wasn't buying it. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, a stance that dangerously screamed downright sexy to him. Covering his blush, he turned his back to her and started to walk away once more.

"Fine, but do not think that I have given up on this. You will tell me what you said, Harry Potter."

'Uh oh, that tone of voice! I am in trouble unless I figure something out. I can't exactly confess like this. I want the moment to be perfect! I will just have to stall.' He clenched his jaw. "Night." He called over his shoulder.

"Night, Harry." Her voice growled behind him.

**AN: Thanks for all your reviews. Seriously, reviews give me a lot of inspiration! Please don't stop sending me them. The more I receive the faster chapters will appear. I would also like to say thanks to THEDICTIONATOR for allowing me to post my story. Read her stories too and please review. She tries very hard to bring happiness to you as well.**

**How will Harry's first ski lesson be? Will he show Hermione what a true man he is in hopes to stealing her heart? Or will Harry once again experience problems?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Rowlings owns Harry Potter**

Morning came too soon for Harry. Disoriented, he sat up in bed allowing his body time to wake up. After several minutes, confusion hit him. The bed he slept in was long enough to support his body and the blankets were soft and warm. He felt as though he may have had a full night's worth of sleep and there were no heavy footsteps crashing on the hallway floor. The Dursley's never allowed comfort to be top priority when it came to him so why was did he have such a restful night? He looked around himself to find his room's walls changed from plaster to wood.

The room itself released its fresh pine and oak scent. 'Where am I?' He looked out the window to find snow and mountains. Finally fully awake, he remembered. 'That's right, I'm in Switzerland.' He smiled. Grabbing his glasses, he swung his legs over the bed and stood up. The cold surface of the floor shocked him.

He quickly dressed and headed downstairs toward the strong scent of breakfast in the making. It reminded him a bit of the Weasley's home when he stayed over during the summer in the past. "Good morning, Harry. Would you like some bacon and eggs?" Mrs. Granger offered. Harry happily nodded as a plate full of steaming food was placed before him.

He thanked his kind host before digging in. The moment the food touched his tongue, he felt like he was in heaven. The eggs were so light and fluffy and the bacon was cooked to perfection. His thoughts drifted to a far distant future of Hermione cooking for him in their own house. A smile continued to visit him when he suddenly felt a stark coldness behind him.

The fork halfway to his mouth, he paused. "Good morning, Hermione. Have a seat." Her mother placed a plate before her and Hermione sat next to him. Harry grinned at her, fully aware that she was still angry he had avoided her. Even from the distance, he could feel the electricity crackling through the air between them. She seemed to have just showered, for the fresh scent of lilac tickled his senses.

"So Harry," Hermione's father started, just having plopped down his own plate across the table. "Have you ever been skiing before?" His sandy eyes twinkled at the two friends across the table.

Harry shook his head and put down his fork, wishing he could talk and eat at the same time. "I can't say that I have ever had a vacation before in my entire life." Harry stated, glancing back down at his steaming plate. "I went to the zoo once with my aunt and cousin but they just couldn't find anyone to push me off on."

Hermione's father's eyes widened at this confession, but he kept silent as Hermione said, "His aunt and uncle aren't the friendliest people…"

Hermione's father nodded and clasped his hands together. "Then I take it you lack proper ski clothes?" Harry nodded in response and suddenly was enveloped by two arms from behind.

"Oh dear!" Mrs. Granger sniffled, "then we'll just have to make this the most memorable vacation of the rest of your life!" She gave him a soft squeeze before releasing him and turning to Hermione. "I think I know of a couple of shops down the mountain. We passed by them on our way up."

Hermione nodded and smiled, not having touched her breakfast. "We'll go right after breakfast. I guess you and dad will be busy with the agent?"

"Agent?" Harry echoed, again wishing he could eat and speak at the same time.

"We're buying a summer home here, Harry." Hermione's father stated, grinning.

"You see," the mother began to say, "our family comes skiing so often and we spend almost all our vacations here anyways, we thought we should at least look into some kind of second home here."

"Anyways," her father continued, reaching for his heavy jacket on the chair next to him, "we're heading out now to meet her. You two enjoy your morning and meet us at the lodge for lunch. We can make our evening plans from there."

"Goodbye, mom, dad!" Hermione chimed, reaching for her glass of orange juice.

Harry nodded and smiled. "Bye Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Looking back down at his still steaming plate of breakfast, he realized just how wonderful Hermione's parents had been to him. He stood up and looked Hermione's father straight in the eyes. "Thank you sir, for including me in your family this summer."

A strange look briefly passed through Hermione's father's eyes, but it was not missed by Harry. It was reminiscent of compassion, sincerity and something still mysterious and unknown to him. "You," Hermione's father gently stated, "are always welcome among us." He turned towards the door and put his arm around his wife. "Call me Aaron, Harry."

Harry sat back down to his wonderful breakfast and glanced over to see a grinning Hermione. He slowly sat down, gazing at her mysteriously cheerful expression. Was this happiness, or had a clever plot blossomed inside her head? Harry decided to ignore the latter possibility and grinned back. Digging his fork into the scrambled eggs, he stopped, just a moment, to savor the pleasant aroma.

"I swear Harry," Hermione said, in awe, "I really only thought you looked at food like this with the chocolate frogs on the Hogwarts Express!"

Stuffing his mouth full, he turned his head to face her and swallowed. "It's food….it's wonderful home-cooked food! I haven't had food...like this, all summer." He smiled and turned back to his meal. Today was starting out to be a wonderful day.

AN: I know, not much Harry/Hermione in this one, but it will definately be there in the next chapter! Don't forget to review. Always accepting constructive criticism!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A bundled up duo sat on an icy bench, staring down the empty road. Thus far, no cars or trucks had passed by and the only sound to break the clean silence had been a mere mouse scampering across the road towards a hidden home in the brambles. The dark haired boy shifted in his spot to cast a glance at his partner before immediately returning to the road. She did not appear upset as he feared, though an unmistakable aura of plotting lay about her.

"Harry," she began innocently. "Is something wrong?"

He looked back to her and replied, "Not at all…"

She stared skeptically at him a moment before adding nonchalantly, "We'll need to stop by Gringotts in town before we head to the stores. The entrance though, is a little inconvenient."

Harry nodded as his eyes followed a dark burgundy van approach them from up the mountain. "With your smarts, I'm sure we'll find an easy way in."

---

The shuttle dropped them off in town, courtesy of the ski resort, and they made their way towards a crowded plaza covered in snow. Several children ran across the circular plaza, screaming and laughing, tumbling into several adults on their desperate attempts to avoid an "it". Several others, older though undeniably less mature gossiped underneath an overhanging, make up and glitter splashed across their faces. Amidst it all, a sole elderly couple cautiously inched across the circle, a shaking cane preceding the two hunched forms as they whispered kind words to one another.

Hermione stopped and gazed at the bustle of the small town, brought to life by the business of the resort. Her eyes flitted from place to place before landing near the center and focusing in a sad and longing expression.

"What?" Harry asked, poking her mildly with his elbow just before being knocked over by a pair of wildly fleeing children. He yelped and landed on his backside. A scrambling blur yelled an apology in several languages and shot off towards the edge of the plaza.

"Hahaha," Hermione laughed lightly, offering her gloved hand to him. "Cute little buggers aren't they? Almost makes me want to forgive you."

Harry held his tongue and graciously accepted her hand. Once standing, he quickly shook his head, tossing off bits of ice and snow in several directions. He looked over at her again, and seeing an amused look upon her face he held out his hand and conceded, "Truce?" Seeing her lips curve upward into a triumphant smirk, he sighed uncomfortably.

"I'll at least think about it." She quipped. She glanced back out over the plaza near the center again and furrowed her brows as if noticing something slightly askew.

"What?" Harry repeated, now staring at the empty patch of snow in the center of the plaza, marred with several footprints. "What were you looking at earlier?"

"It was nothing." Hermione quickly replied, brushing her hair back with her right hand. "Just some of the kids."

Choosing to give the subject up completely, Harry glanced around casually and wrapped an arm around her back. He leaned towards her ear and whispered, "So, where is Gringotts? If we're standing in it right now, they've done a great job cloaking it…"

Hermione laughed aloud and lightly pushed his side. "Over here." She began to move away, casually dragging her fingers over his arm to entwine in his fingers. She led him to the center of the plaza, through shoppers, children, and tourists alike and sat upon a simple resting bench, glancing at the edge of the bench. The bench was one of many circling a lone tree having erupted from the middle of the plaza. As soon as he sat next to her she spoke. "You see, this bench was donated to the city, though they don't have any records of who donated it."

Harry nodded, realizing where it was going. "They all look alike, so how did you know which one was the one?"

Hermione brought their hands up to rest on her right knee and nonchalantly tilted her head towards the back of the bench. "The back left foot on this bench is unique."

Harry sighed, a light plume of fog appearing in front of his face. "Okay. So now what?"

"We just sit until everyone's too busy to notice. We're mostly hidden anyways on this side." She leaned on his shoulder and looked around at the bustling plaza.

He smiled down at her and once again, lingering daydreams of a happier content future began to swim within his mind. A set of unsettling dark brown eyes broke his reveries. He stared at the child somewhat taken aback. The child shifted his piercing gaze to Hermione who smiled gently back him.

"You're pretty." He beamed at her, receiving a warm chuckle in return from her. "Will you go out with me?" His dark brown eyes sparkled at her as Harry gaped.

"Maybe, when you're older." Hermione smiled, gently ruffling the child's hair with her free hand. Harry's hand gripped her other hand a bit tighter.

"Yay!" The child screamed running off to his comrades across the plaza. "She said she would!"

Hermione smiled at the retreating child and smirked at Harry. "Jealous?" She inquired knowingly.

Harry looked at her and scoffed, "What? What gives you that idea?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and leaned in to whisper, "You're going to break my hand soon…"

Harry glanced down and immediately let go, a faint blush rising to darken his frost bitten cheeks. "Sorry…" he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Lean back." Hermione told him suddenly.

Knowing to trust her wisdom, he leaned back on the bench and felt a gentle pull. Opening his eyes, he found himself and Hermione floating above a stone floor. Twisting around to stare at the ceiling, he spotted a luminescent opening. "The tree…" he thought to himself as he felt stick brush against his side.

"Grab it kid." A gruff voice barked from below.

"Thank you." He heard Hermione say as he grabbed the stick. He was pulled down into towards the floor where he joined a goblin and Hermione. "Thank you sir." He echoed to the goblin.

"Take the door on the right. It's a one way path through this bank. Safer for your money." The goblin muttered, resting the stick on the side of the far wall. The sound of shuffling feet echoed through the cold stone room as the pair made their way to the door.

---

**AN: Thank you everyone who has supported me and I am very sorry for the long update. I came down with mono in November and I was sore for a very long time. I hope the story is turning out to everyone's expectations and I promise there will be more H/Herm in the future chapters! Please review with criticisms, praise, and/or opinions on the chapter. I accept all input to help myself improve. I also worked longer on this chapter to make it more detailed than my previous ones. I hope everyone could see the plaza and entrance to Gringotts as I can in my mind's eye. Any reflections on that would be most appreciated! **

**Remember, theDictionator is allowing me to post on her account since I have limited resources so please check her other stories. She really does try though I admit she could use a better beta.**


	5. Chapter 5

Harry and Hermione each strode separately out of a set of restrooms near the plaza. Harry's pockets held considerably more money than he had ever laid eyes on in his entire life and he was still slightly dizzy from the previous sight of it.

"_I think that amount will suffice. Don't you agree Harry?" Hermione asked him sweetly. _

_Completely unaware of the exchange rates, Harry gave a weak nod and averted his eyes from Hermione's. "Definitely." Of course, the moment he averted his eyes, he came face to face with one of the security goblins, glaring fiercely about the room. He almost positioned himself in between Hermione and the guard's glare before he realized he was already there. An unconscious shiver ran through his body and he silently prayed for any thief reckless enough to try to break into this Gringotts._

_The amount was pushed across the table and into his hands. The goblin in charge muttered darkly the equivalency in several different forms of money and Harry almost fainted. The amount in front of him was more than he had expected. Flipping through the cash, he stuffed it in his pocket, grabbed Hermione's hand and headed towards the exit._

Harry shook his head to rid himself of the memory and realized he had been moving this entire time. Hermione's hand was once again clasping his own and they were entering a clothing store. Hermione stopped leading a moment to look around and he noted just how cute her rosy cheeks looked on her with her crimson coat.

"Let's look over here." She offered, flashing Harry a dazzling smile. He smiled back at her and allowed her to lead him to a section of the store holding ski clothing. She dropped his hand and immediately began to pick through several articles of ski jackets. "Harry, hold out your arms." Her attitude had switched from sweet to commando as her focus aimed at the clothing racks. Within moments, she had piled jacket after jacket and pants after pants in Harry's arms.

This was the new side to Hermione previously unknown to him; he wasn't sure if he found it adorable or something to fear. He stumbled after her, an ever-growing tower in his arms, connecting the dots in his head. After all, she was always like this in libraries. Grinning, he thought to himself, "Just maybe I'll chance the library more often this year." He closed his eyes a moment as an image of Hermione stacking books in his hands, fretting over an essay supposedly due, lingered in his mind's eye. "Oof!" he jolted, apparently having run into a wall.

"Harry!" Hermione frowned. "Stop playing around!" To this he merely smiled and angled towards her voice.

After an hour and a half, Harry peeked behind the load of clothing in his aching arms, Hermione's adorable antics having worn dangerously thin. "Who ever knew that clothes could weigh so much!" He griped silently and attempted to readjust his hold upon the pile. Sweat trickled down his forehead. After searching through the entire store, Hermione wiped her brow as if she were the one exerting so much effort and let out a breath of relief.

"Now that we've covered the store, it's time for you to try on the clothes." Hermione pointed at Harry's nose with a serious expression. Her continual enthusiasm was contagious. "I want you to try on each and every article I picked. Don't think of skipping out either. Trust me. I'll know…I'll know." Harry gulped jestingly but nodded just the same. It wasn't like Hermione to give an empty threat, and even though she never clearly stated one, her silent underlying tone spoke volumes.

Inside the dressing room, Harry gazed wide eyed at the amount of clothes he had to try on. Somehow it seemed much larger than when he was holding it outside, partly due to the smallness of the fitting room. He bit his lip, picked up the pile, and plopped it outside the door, avoiding Hermione's piercing gaze. He grabbed the first set, a red and white set of ski pants and jacket and ducked into the dressing room. He peeled off his over-sized sweater before he started on his shirt. 'I never thought Hermione was the shopper maniac type. At this rate, we'll never make it in time to meet her parents for lunch.' Tiny rapid knocks on the door alerted Harry that he was taking too long. As if she had read his mind, Hermione told him to hurry since they didn't have a lot of time.

He quickly changed into the red ski pants and fastened all the buckles. He had barely managed to throw on the jacket when the door swung open. "Hermione! What are you doing?" he cried, horrified at her sudden presence.

"You were taking too long. All you had to do was put on the clothes I assigned. Now, let me see you." She replied enthusiastically, beckoning him by twirling her pointer finger in circles. She looked expectantly at him and grinned.

"What if I was …." His face flooded red, "you know!" His exasperated undertone was evident in his speech.

"I wouldn't worry about that, Harry." She winked playfully at him, "Besides, we have more pressing matters at hand." Her playful manner melted into a serious expression.

Harry felt cold fear drizzle down his spine like raindrops on a leaf; he unconsciously shuddered. The look in her eyes told him something bad was going to happen and no thanks to Voldermort, his intuition rarely failed him.

An evil gleam sparkled in Hermione's eye as a sharpened tooth rested outside her lip. Though, that detail might have been a figment of his own unleashed imagination. Harry backed up against the wall as Hermione closed the door behind her, trapping the both of them. Her grin widened and took on an evil gleam as she closed the gap between them. "Wh…what are you doing?!" Harry backed away in fear.

"Like I told you before, we're on borrowed time; we need to…speed things up." Hermione gave a sharp tug on his pants, before moving up to fasten his jacket for him. "I'm actually surprised you managed to buckle that right." She murmured, tucking his shirt into the jacket before zipping it up.

Heat rolled off of Harry's face in plumes and he trusted not his voice.

Hermione's gleam, softened somewhat as she took to tying some of the loose buckles. "Harry?" She pressed gently. "Why won't you talk to me?"

---

A/Ns: Again, I'd like to thank all of those who have supported me and say that I hope everyone has liked the new chapter.

Will he finally just say it?! How far is she willing to go to find out!? I know the answer! Hahaha!

On another note, I am sorry to inform everyone that I am now instating a review quota of 10 reviews before the next chapter will be posted. I apologize for having to do this and I know a lot of different people's opinions on the matter. However, I wish for everyone to know my opinions on this subject right now. I have been receiving hits to my chapters and ever increasing favorites and alerts to my story. However, I haven't been receiving reviews to match these increases in alerts and favorites. I want and need to know _why _this story is your favorite, or _why _you want to read more! I need to know people! I'm not a mind reader! Even if you just say "good work" that's at least telling me you cared enough to say it. Tell me what you liked, what you are looking forward to, or even that you hated it. A review's a review, and again, I am sorry I have to instate this quota, but I feel without it, I will not receive enough feedback to help understand my reader's reactions. Remember, if you don't tell me what you thought, I will never know. I'm not really asking much.


	6. Chapter 6

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His breath seemed to catch in his throat and if he hadn't known better, he could have sworn that the fitting room's walls were closing in on them both. Though even then, as he gazed into her brown eyes, he could not summon the words to his mouth. As the seconds passed, her face froze and stiffened, refusing to turn from his stare. 'Maybe I should tell her…' he thought to himself. Those thoughts were quickly pushed back by the now constant anxiety in his life. 'No, I can't! What if she rejected me? I'd have…ruined the best friendship I ever had. She deserves better than that, and definitely better than me.' The doubts snowballed as his mind swarmed with intensity. 'What life could she have with me? Instead of going to the library for fun, it would be to avoid people pestering her with questions. I can't do that to her.'

Her eyes briefly drifted closed and she gave a determined swallow before opening them once more. Still silent, he peered searchingly into her eyes, trying to find some kind of cue as to what she was thinking. The evidence he found in Hermione's eyes shattered his very soul. Though her face remained frozen in place, as if an artist had sculpted her from a polish rock, her eyes quivered with doubt, betrayal and hurt.

'What have I done?!' Harry's mind froze in horror at the result of his own silence and yet at the same time, scrambled to remediate the situation. 'I hurt her... _I _hurt her! How could I do this? Ugh! Me and my idiocy.' His mind swam through the thoughts faster than his face could even register them. 'Maybe I should just tell her. Any kind of rejection would be better than this…this torment I've put her through. No. I can't. I'll just say it was something else. It's not right to tell her how I feel…like this…' He tore his eyes away from her gaze, 'in a fitting room…' He heard a sharp inhale and thought twice. 'I should atleast tell her something. Even if it's just a lie.'

Harry looked back to the only person in his life that he still truly cared about and made his first attempt at speech. "Hermione. I, ah…"

Shamefully, though he managed to project a few words from his once paralyzed throat, a sharp knock sounded on the door. Harry jumped and Hermione spun in place as an angry feminine voice sounded through the door. "Excuse me, patrons, but we have _VERY _strict rules about these dressing rooms. Only one person allowed in each at a time. _If _you require a private room for _other_ business, we'd be happy to, ah, _locate _a suitable hotel for your activities."

Hermione's cheeks flamed into a deep crimson hue and she immediately strode out the door, her eyes glued to the floor muttering an embarrassed "my apologies, ma'am" as she went. Though Harry could not see her face, he knew from her tone that she was still upset over his silence.

"Wait, Hermione!" He exclaimed, reaching an arm out to her turned shoulders and starting after her.

"That outfit fits you perfect." Hermione replied in monotone, not once looking back. "You should get it. I'll wait outside for you."

He watched her leave, before he turned back to the open fitting room, broken and downcast. The sales clerk eyed him suspiciously as he walked past her again and cut, "I take it this mound of clothes will not be needed?"

"I guess not." Harry replied sadly. Closing the door, he began to disrobe.

---

Harry stood silently in line with the chosen outfit. Ahead of him, an old man fumbled with his own order, a few shirts and several socks, and he couldn't help but wonder just how long he had stood in line. Letting out an exasperated sigh, he stared towards the door that Hermione had left through just moments before.

"Sonny," a strange voice sounded near him. "Sonny! I'ma talkin' t'ya!" Suddenly an old weathered hand landed on his shoulder, scaring him almost out of his clothes. Harry stared at the man wide-eyed and unsure of how to respond to this unexpected lapse in personal space. "Could you bend r'over right here and hand me my'sa wallet? Y'see, my back just ain't what it use'ta be." He held his other weak hand over the edge of his back and it was evident he had already attempted to reach for the treasured item.

"Oh! Of course, sir!" Harry exclaimed, immediately stooping down to pick up the old worn out leather wallet. Returning it to the old man, Harry stepped back a couple of feet and let out a heavy breath of relief.

"Why thank'ya sonny…" The old man said, eyeing Harry with a wrinkled eye. "Ah, miss, I think I'll take one'o those blankets up 'dere on the top shelf too…" The sales clerk rolled her eyes and stalked off to find the stores' ladder. Turning around, the old man zeroed in on the only target left in the entire store. "Ah, sonny…what I'd give t'be yo' age 'gain." He said the words with such wistfulness that Harry could not help but turn to listen. "That lady friend'o yours. You two courting?"

Surprised at the man's frankness, Harry almost took a step back, "well, no…" he began before being cut off by the old man's rambling words.

"I remember courting back when I'us young. Young and foolish and lost'n love. You should tell'er. She's a beaut and yous's young, but best now befo' it's too late."

Though the old man's dialect was somewhat difficult to understand, Harry could pick up on the meaning of the conversation. "What do you mean?"

"Wells…" the old man launched, apparently having told the story many times by the way it rolled off of his tongue in a recited manner. "I waited like'a fool, just watchin' and bein' next'ta her fur so long! And those'r good days, boy! I couldn't trade'm fur d'world! But then, she was a'dying and I," the old man faltered with perfect timing and took a deep practiced breath. "I was livin'."

Forgetting his own situation a moment and for the sake of having nothing else to do while waiting for the clerk to return, Harry decided to let the old man continue with his little speech. "So, what did you do?"

The old man turned his head to Harry and shook his head with a grin. "I's broke down an'told 'er!" He closed his eyes and started to laugh. "An' what's worse….she wanted t'tell me's d'same thing too!" His laughter died away as he continued with his next words. "Wish I'd told'er sooner. We missed a'lot o'time ter'gether."

The woman returned with the ladder and immediately set about to retrieving the blanket. "Ah, the blue one on the'er bottom, missie." The old man turned to Harry and whispered, "she's a cute'on too."

'I can't believe this guy…he tells me all about the love of his life and then looks up that girl's skirt!' Harry thought to himself, watching the old man checking out the salesclerk. 'It scares me that he could be the mirror of my future….but…he has a point.'

"Oh, wait, missie…my eyes'r bad. I meant that red'un, on dis'shelf right'ere!" This was going to be a long wait…

---

After an invariably long wait in line, Harry finally stumbled out of the door, his legs tired and cramping from the long stand. He looked to his right and then to his left before he spotted Hermione sitting on a nearby bench. Her arms were crossed and her eyes clenched shut in a distressed manner. Hanging his head, Harry knew what he had to do.

He slowly made his way over to her, and sat down next to her. Dropping his bag on the fresh snow, he meekly looked her way. Delicate snowflakes drifted down all around them though they could not obscure the pain evident on her face. Even though he had sat down, she would not even look his way. "I'm sorry, Hermione." He said softly. Her eyes registered a reaction though she still would not look at him. Sliding a little closer, he wrapped an uncertain arm around her shoulders. "I'm so sorry Hermione!" His voice broke, and he squeezed her shoulders as he spoke. "Forgive me. I've been a fool."

"You idiot!" She snapped sharply at him, finally turning to look him straight in the eye. Cold tears slid down her face in small streams, as she could not hold her hurt in any longer. Holding his breath, Harry pulled her into a hug as she sobbed quietly on his shoulder. "You're such an idiot sometimes…" she kept repeating. Harry closed his eyes, and held her tightly, feeling for a moment as if she would drift away like one of the snowflakes falling around them.

"I…I know I am, Hermione." He kept his hold on her until her sobs lessened. When she had finally calmed to a quiet sniffle, he whispered, "I just didn't want you to hate me."

She pulled back from his embrace and stared at him in shock. Her tears had dried but her eyes remained swollen from her crying spell. "Hate you?" she echoed in disbelief. "Harry, why would I hate you?" Her eyes furrowed and she peered into his own.

"I just…" he said, stopping himself again. 'This is it this time. I won't put her through this again just for myself.' He took a deep breath and started again. "Hermione, I want to tell you something, but just know, I'll understand no matter how you feel about it…"

---

**A/Ns: Thank you everyone who reviewed! I must apologize for the lengthy update period…my cousin's computer broke and then she gave up on writing. Thankfully, she gave me her account so now I have full access to posting my story (and since I got a computer for my birthday, I can actually do it too!).**

**The quota's the same as last time and hopefully I won't have any time issues posting the next chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it. Take care folks!**


	7. Chapter 7

Unsure of how to begin, Harry tried to organize and go through mini skits on the outcomes of such a topic. Thought after thought, he found every approach he took lead to disaster. Gritting his teeth in frustration, he could not only see but feel Hermione's own anguish. 'Come on, Potter, you can come up with different ways of capturing the Snitch, foiling Voldermort's plans, and pass my classes, but I can't even come up with a way to tell the girl I love my feelings?!' Harry cradled his face in his hands never wishing so much that some kind of disaster could occur to avoid something so hard.

Then an idea floated to his head. Something that will keep the situation comfortable but at the same time give them what they both want. "Hermione,' he faced her with fresh determination that surprised her, "there is something very important I need to tell you, but not right now, I want to tell you in private." His green eyes pleaded for her to understand.

"Harry-"

"I promise, please just trust me. I will tell you; I just need to figure out where and when. I…it will be before the end of our trip."

With a sigh, Hermione nodded. Harry gently picked up her hand and cradled in his, marveling how small her hand was compared to his own. Without thinking, he lifted her hand over his lap and begun playing with it. 'Her fingers are so slender and fragile looking, I can't believe that such frailty can duel and carry such heavy books. No calluses' with his other hand, he ran his fingers over the palm not noticing what his touch was doing to her, 'so soft, everything about her is soft, warm, and wonderful. So kissable.' His index finger feather traced the lines on her palm.

The finger trailed up her wrist admiring the light blue veins underneath the pale skin. A slight vibration caught his attention as his finger rested above the pulse. A gentle smile overtook his expression it was a sign of her life. It meant his heart remained safe. He was so tempted to kiss it as a way to say thank you for continuing to beat. Hoping that it will always remain so.

Harry was so enthralled by Hermione's anatomy that when he noticed the quickening of her pulse racing underneath his finger, he looked up to find her face flushed and slightly out of breath. Confusion washed over his features for a moment until he realized what he was doing. Soon, his face matched hers in colour and he dropped her hand instantly on his lap. To make matters worse, Harry felt her hand momentarily touch his upper thigh and he froze. Hermione claimed her hand quickly and both teens turned in opposite directions from each other.

The cold weather seem to not matter any longer but the constant heat they emitted from their bodies. An awkward moment separated the two as both tried to get a grip on what happened. Thankful for Hermione's quick logical mind, Harry heard her announce that it was already noon. Harry grabbed his bag, and they both ran for the lodge.

During lunch, Mr. and Mrs. Granger noticed the two teens acting strangely. A momentarily thought of hormones and first love combined instantly placed their worries to rest. Harry glanced through his menu while his mind remained on the girl next to him. Her presence seemed to hold a much higher impact on this trip than any other time they were together. 'Why? It was already awkward before and now it is almost unbearable being around her without me wanting to do something stupid. Everything about her is driving me insane! I have never felt such a strong urge to touch her.' He glanced at her as she was talking to her parents about what they did. He held up his menu higher to cover his face as thoughts invaded his mind. His eyes drifted to her throat and lips as they moved with her words. Her delicate hands resting on the table as she leaned forward talking with animation.

Her hair that looked like fine silk, Hermione was gorgeous. Her slender body revealed under her clothing, he had never felt so much toward anyone like he has for her. He loves her style, conservative yet revealing in the right areas. His face burned at his thoughts, 'Stop it!! Don't think about her like that, she's my best friend, who I happen to love, not some thing to gawk at! I don't want to think of her like that; I don't want to be like that old man at the store. Pure thoughts, Harry, PURE THOUGHTS!' Shaking his head, he turned his attention back to the menu.

'All right, let's see what I should get. I don't know if I can eat anything with the way my mind is at the moment. Concentrate! Okay, a cheeseburger. Simple enough.' He checked the burger selection only to find a few choices, 'Nothing of interest, I'll just order chicken strips.' He fought with his imagination on what should remain dominant in his head, Hermione's body or food.

"Harry?!" Jerking away from his menu, he looked up to find four pairs of eyes looking in his general direction.

"What?" he could feel sweat sliding down his back and his face burning as hot as ever. Concern filled Hermione's eyes.

"What do you want to eat?" She stated.

"Oh! Chicken strips." The waitress scribbled in her notepad before listing off some of the other sides that come with the meal.

"Mashed potatoes or chips?" Harry had a slight thought on how well she spoke English; he figured she would have a thick accent.

"Mashed potatoes and gravy."

"Salad?"

"No."

"Soup?"

"No."

"No, dear, you get either a salad or soup. Which one?" The waitress gave him a knowing smirk.

"Uhh, soup." Harry had never felt so embarrassed in his entire life. He was behaving like a bumbling idiot right in front of HER and HER parents!! The waitress jotted his order down then gave him a wink before collecting their menus and leaving. He wanted to run. He wanted to bury his face in his arms and demand for this day to restart. He never wished so much to have the Time Turner in his possession. Instead he just grabbed his water glass and drank the entire contents at once. He kept his eyes on the glass ignoring the concerned looks he received from HER. As cliché as this was, he almost wanted to quote that famous saying, 'Can this get any worse?' but stopped himself knowing that it would only invite more problems.

It seemed like an eternity for the food. He felt a slight bump on his side to discover Hermione was getting his attention. He just shook his head slightly. When the food arrived, he stuffed his face with the food not caring how he looked. He just wanted to have something to occupy his attention.

After lunch, Harry kept his attention onto other things. When it was time for the two to depart from her parents once again, Harry realized he didn't know what their evening plans were. He was so engrossed with his thoughts that he found that he nodded and answered to questions without thought. 'Crap!' Not only that, but he knew Hermione was going to grill him about lunch. It was quiet so far, Harry's raw nerves had begun to settle. 'Maybe she had forgotten or doesn't care!' A part of him cheered yet another part was kind of hurt.

"So, are you going to explain what happened during lunch?" Her angelic voice graced his ears.

"Nothing." He casually responded. She was silent. He looked over to find her brows furrowed and her face revealed hurt. Alarmed again, he cursed himself for hurting her again. Grabbing her hand, he lead her to an abandoned alley to talk. She refused to look at him, but he knew tears were either on the verge of spilling or falling. With courage he never knew existed, he placed his fingers under her chin and lifted up her face. He gasped in wonder, despite her tears falling she, to him, looked absolutely enchanting.

His eyes fell to her full lips, his thumb lightly ran over the velvety skin. He heard her sharp intake of breath, but he found such a response pleasing. He was able to get such a response out of her from a simple touch. It filled his heart with joy that maybe, just maybe she did care, "Hermione." His voice was just breath as his eyes seemed locked on her lips. "What kind of spell have you cast over me? Why can't I stop myself when I know I should?" Unknown to him, he said his thoughts out loud that caused Hermione's eyes to widen at the revelation.

His voice was in whispers that made the idea of such words unreal and unsure. His hand moved to her cheek touching her as if she was fine china. She looks so fragile and delicate. He believed that if he wasn't careful enough, he might break her into a million pieces, as would his heart. 'What have you done to me?' The intense look he gave her was enough to make Hermione's knees shake. She wasn't sure if she could stand up on her own so she rested her back to the wall.

His hand traveled to her neck, Harry felt as if it was only but a dream. Such things could never happen in real life. Her scent was intoxicating. He felt himself being drawn to her as if pulled by a lure on a fishing line. His face moved closer to hers. Harry's nose briefly brushed against her cheek as his lips hungered for her heated lips. He felt as if he could not stop himself.

Hermione's hands ran up and down his chest, marveling at the structure she felt. She wanted him so much. Why was he teasing her like this? She grabbed the front of his shirt pulling him closer. She angled her face to meet his mouth with her own. They both wanted to close the gap between them but also knowing that such an action would no longer keep them in the safe confines of friendship.

Their breath intermingling with each other increasing the sexual rage between them, a delicious torture they both hated yet enjoyed. Harry moved in closer with mere millimeters of distance between their lips. "Hermione." His hand moved up her neck to the back of her head, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair. He wanted her so much. He needed her. She was his life source. His mind made up, he was going to close the gap between them. With newfound confidence, he moved.

_**Okay, I know it has been a long time since I last updated but here you go! I really hope it is to everyone's liking. I know, cliffhanger! What can I say? I love them. I'm a horrible author. :p I would LOVE to know everyone's thoughts on my chapters. How else will I know what you like unless you tell me? I will expect at least 10 reviews if not, I will assume people do not like it and will completely eliminate all the fluff in this story. Until next time.**_


	8. Chapter 8

Their faces drifted ever closer as a light breeze shifted the air around them. Harry raised a gloved hand to tilt Hermione's chin up and leaned in closer. Her eyes were wide and her breath seemed caught in her throat. Mere inches away, it happened.

Hermione sneezed. It was a short, high pitched sneeze that jerked her head into a quick nod. Unfortunately, they were so close Harry was not only in the path of her snot, but also received a hard headbutt as her head snapped downward. Almost immediately her left hand raced up to cover her nose and she turned away, blushing madly. Her right hand covered her forehead. Harry on the other hand clutched at his forehead with both hands but after just a minute, he started to laugh.

Hermione, still with a gloved hand covering her face glanced at him, a horrified look splayed across her face. "What's so funny?!" she cried at him, tears beginning to run down her face.

As Harry looked at her, he imagined her tears were little sparkling diamonds rolling down her face. There wasn't any situation that she didn't look like an angel to him. He stifled his laughter when he realized the hurt look in her eyes. He rushed forward and wrapped his arms around her, the smell of lavender and lilac invading his senses.

"H-Harry?" Hermione spoke, somewhat calmer but with her hand still over her face. "I'm so sorry I ruined that." She rested her head on his shoulder but he slowly pulled away from her.

"It's okay Hermione." He looked in her eyes and reached a hand up to pull her own down from her face. He wanted more than ever to feel her soft silky lips against his own. As he gently pulled down, he felt her resisting. He peered questioningly at her.

"I…need a Kleenex." Hermione turned away, blushing madly as he started to chuckle and took her by her other hand, leading her towards the nearby ski lodge.

While Hermione was procuring a Kleenex from the lady's restroom in the lodge and cleaning up a bit, Harry thought about the alley and decided not to speak of the incident until he could find the perfect moment. After all, that moment in the alley should have spoken louder than anything he could say then and there. He now had ski clothes and he was itching to try the sport. As soon as Hermione approached him, he asked if they could try the slopes and she was more than happy to avoid talking about the alley incident. Hermione had already planned to rent some skis but Harry, having not decided what he really wanted to do before, opted for a snowboard since they seemed awfully cool at the time. He had never even ridden a skateboard, much less a bicycle before, but he figured it couldn't be _that_ difficult. After renting their gear, they headed off to the slopes to receive a short beginner's lesson from the local snowboarding instructor for Harry.

Harry had originally been pretty insistent that he could handle at least the intermediate slopes without a lesson, but Hermione would not hear of it and insisted he take a lesson first. All throughout the lesson, Harry was having a great deal of difficulty with his balance. He had fallen dozens of times and with Hermione watching him intently and trying to help, his confidence was falling by the minute. After thirty minutes, he finally told her to go have some fun on her own while he finished the hour lesson on his own. She hadn't been especially happy about it, but she went ahead and skied down the bunny slope and switched over to an intermediate slope and was out of sight within a minute of the suggestion. After that, Harry didn't exactly improve, but he was at the very least happy that Hermione wasn't there to see him flailing about like a hippogriff with a broken back. All too soon the lesson ended and Harry was left on the bunny slope alone. It was especially disheartening to see the little eight year old kid who had been taking the lesson with him, sliding off down the slope, turning and stopping with ease after the lesson while Harry did most of his sliding down the slope on his butt.

After another thirty minutes of practicing on his own, Hermione skied around the top of the slope to watch him, having ridden a different lift from the bottom to the top. Harry didn't even see her as he tried the bunny slope one more time. Unfortunately for him, when he lost his balance, he rammed into a little girl and plowed her down with his snowboard as he fell face first into the snow. He heard a person screaming something, but it was completely muffled by all the snow in his ears. Some rough hands jerked him up and tossed him over to the side as the parents of the little girl rushed to her side to inspect her injuries. In a daze, Harry looked up at the people who had so callously thrown him aside and realized it was the ski patrol. He wasn't sure he understood everything they said but he did understand the words "Get off" and "banned". Feeling not only depressed but ashamed, he tried to apologize to the girl and her parents, but the father of the little girl only tried to lunge at Harry's throat, falling over his own skis in the process.

Before Harry could respond, Hermione skied up and stopped right beside him. His eyes darted all over the place but she grabbed his hand and said hurriedly, "Come on, Harry…let's go." She held on to his hand as he walked in his boots, dragging his rented snowboard behind him towards the lift. Harry stared blankly at the ground, and said nothing until Hermione asked, "Do you think you can snowboard at least up to the ski lift, or would you rather walk back up?"

He tried to clear his head of all his fear but he knew he had to show her he wasn't totally hopeless. "Yeah," he said shakily, cursing his voice for betraying him. He kept his mouth shut as he put the snowboard back on and together they moved toward the ski lift. Within a minute, it was their turn to jump on, and they both miraculously made it, which was a first for Harry whom until then had fallen on his butt every time he attempted to get on the ski lift.

As soon as the ski lift raised their skis and snowboard above the snow and over the pristine snow, Hermione erupted into chatter. "Harry, I'm so sorry! I didn't know any of that would happen!" She exclaimed in a worried voice. "I should have stayed with you, I should have helped you, I just.." As she continued her nervous speech, he internally simmered, growing angrier by the second. "Harry, I know it was an accident. I was watching. There wasn't anything you could do to avo…"

Suddenly Harry turned in his seat next to her and exploded, "You were watching me the whole time?!" He paused a second, seeing that she was suddenly silent and taken aback. "What!? Did you think that my falling down all over the place was cute!? Did you think it funny!?" He glared at her and even her tears streaming down her cheeks did nothing to calm his sudden outburst. "You're nothing but a mudblood! A sniveling, manipulative mudblood who is only here to outdo everyone else around! You were nothing and no one even liked you until I took you in! You're just a burden to me…and there's no telling what you've been doing with Ron behind my back! I hate you!"

He sat there as the ski lift neared the top, panting to catch his breath. "H..Harry…" he heard her say in a small, hurt voice. It jilted him back to reality and he suddenly realized just how much he had hurt her. She looked ahead, and as soon as the lift set them down she took off on her skis, turning and flying back down the mountain and towards the black diamonds, tears still streaming down her face. He tried to follow but as he got off of the lift himself he began flailing again and fell down on his face. Knowing he'd never catch up with her and that she likely didn't want to talk to him at that moment, even for an apology, he took off his snowboard and staggered over to the lodge to turn in his rented gear. He made a mental note as he put his rented gear back on the counter for the clerk to check back in that he'd write her a card first and then apologize in person after she read it.

After explaining to the clerk why he had turned in his gear so early, he was given a hefty refund for the unused time and he made his way over towards the concessions area of the lodge and bought himself a hot chocolate with extra cream. He slid into the couch resting in front of the fireplace, and he honestly had an image of being back in the Gryffindor common room once again. The only thing missing was the strange decorations about the room and a handful of students loitering about. At this time of day, the lodge was relatively empty as most of the people in the area had taken the opportunity to hit the slopes on the fresh powdery snow. After a few sips of his hot chocolate the roaring fire in front of him began to work its own magic and he slowly fell into a deep sleep.

It was hours later that he was startled awake by a screaming girl. The lodge's den was suddenly filled with people whispering and retelling the stories of their day on the mountain but a single girl was shrilly recounting the news she had just heard causing everyone to pause their conversations to listen. It was bad news, but somehow, he realized, that people seemed to thrive on bad news as long as they weren't the ones the news was about. Harry unconsciously leaned in closer to listen as the girl cried, "Oh my gosh! You won't believe this! Some poor girl just died on the slopes!" What few conversations that had lingered in the room immediately stopped as the girl caught everyone's full attention. "They haven't identified her yet, but she went off one of the black diamonds and hit a tree! Isn't that _awful_!?" Harry's blood ran cold though the girl brimmed with excitement as she went on to tell the rest. "I heard from one of the officers who arrived at the scene first the girl had been crying at the time. He said he had seen her right before she went down the slopes! They might even close down that slope for tonight until the authorities can clear the scene! Isn't this so exciting!?" The girl had to restrain herself from jumping up and down.

As the girl calmed down a bit and began to talk to her own friends about the news in a quieter voice, the room returned to its previous conversations though they seemed more tense and as if a new electricity had been turned on in the room. Harry could have guessed what they were talking about then but his mind was swarming around the circumstances. A crying girl dead on the black diamond slopes, which was where he had seen Hermione go…also crying. He tried to tell himself that it could have been anyone and that Hermione wouldn't have made such a foolish mistake, but he knew deep in his heart that it was her. He had hurt her deep, as if taking a serrated knife and slowly cutting through the layers of her soul one by one. He had called her awful things and said so much that was untrue but things he knew would have hurt her at the time that he had questioned himself afterwards, as he stared at the blazing fire, if she could ever truly forgive him for them. Yet now as he stared blankly in front of him, he knew she couldn't forgive, nor bear to go on with her life feeling that pain of betrayal. He reached up to rub his cheek and found it strangely wet. The shock delayed his realization by a few seconds but suddenly it hit him like an Everte Statum hex. His stomach was hollow and his chest felt constricted and burned in the strangest of ways. He felt as if the back cushion of the couch was as hard as concrete and though his feet felt strangely heavy, he somehow struggled to his feet and staggered across the room. He managed to stumble out into the hallway, not looking at any faces as he choked back his tears and screams.

After a couple of minutes, he found himself outside staring over the ledge, his tears pouring off of his cheeks as if it were beginning to rain upon him and only him. "_Why?"_ he admonished himself. _"Why did I say such awful things to her…now I can never make it up to her." _As he stood there, shaking with every sob a different thought struck him. "_I caused this." _His sobs stopped altogether as he stared blankly out at a wintery scene he knew he might've otherwise have shared with Hermione. "_I said things…unforgivable things…If I hadn't, she'd still be alive! I…I killed her…" _He took a deep breath, and stared out at the valley below. "_I'm so sorry Hermione." _As he stood there, the soft snow drifted down upon him. "I'm sorry Hermione…" he whispered, looking up at the falling snow and wondered if these were her tears falling down upon him.

---

A/N: Well, I didn't get my 10 reviews so…the story is going to die (well...pretty much is now) unless I get a real outcry this time! Anyways, I've got to stick to my guns this time and uphold that requirement, because my time is valuable and if no one is going to bother telling what made them want to keep reading it, or move on to the next chapter (or what made them want to run for the hills!) I can't improve which is my final goal. For all those who had supported me, I thank you for taking the time to press that little review button and giving me a window into your thoughts. It meant the world to me to find out my strengths and weaknesses. You were awesome readers!


	9. A Note to ARedHair Story cont Ch 10

Harry was very sad about Hermione's death. He cried then killed himself with the unforgivable killing curse. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named rose to power and destroyed everything because he had forgotten that killing everything leaves no more slaves. THE END

**AN: This was not my original ending, but sadly, the people did not feel that the last chapter had good closure. So, I hope this helped a great deal in leaving a good taste in your mouth.**

**To: ARedHair,**

**I am touched that you chose to leave me some comments on my story and very happier that you even managed to leave some constructive comments. However, I believe your take on the review quota was perhaps a bit misunderstood and I would like to take a moment of your time to explain it.**

**Continuing this story takes an investment of time that could be better placed writing other stories or honing different aspects of my writing. If I am not recieving an adequate amount of useful feedback offering me an insight into what my readers are thinking about the story (whether it be how real or nonexistant the setting is, how the dialouge sounds, etc) then my invested time is not giving me the returns I feel I should get for the time. Fanfiction. net is here for a multitude of reasons, but if you would kindly look the next time you are writing review before you press submit, you will see a message saying something along the lines of "this is an opportunity for you to offer words of praise or words of improvement". I clearly asked for words of improvement with my review quota.**

**Furthermore, what you suggested, in asking the readers a specific question, for instance the example you used, "do you think I went over the top with Harry's outburst to Hermione she saw him crash?" predisposes readers to answer one way or another. It is either, yes or no. There is no real opportunity in this question for a reader to say "I think the circumstances leading up to this outburst may have been overly tilted to make a more agressive Harry" or "I see how this can happen but I can't believe he let her just run away like that". Therefore, it is in the best interest of recieving good, meaningful feedback to avoid predisposing readers to any ideas at all.**

**Even though I do enjoy writing (and I am writing for myself), and though this moment in the story was already planned, this actually makes a good ending point because it can be seen as the final chapter of the story. Thus your comments about the story being "abandoned" are quite false as when you reviewed the story yourself it had already been listed as completed.**

**I am very sorry that you feel so strongly against review quotas but as I said, I believe you may have misunderstood its real intent. This quota was not set up to recieve any "atta boy/girl" comments but something constructive so that the rest of the story may actually grow to be better than it began.**

**In final, I will say that I appreciate that you were able to see that this story did indeed have a plot preplanned that it was following to the end, and since you were to see this and actually felt inclined to mention it in your review, I know that I at least have succeeded in making the story well structured and managed to keep the story on track. Your one dimensional comment I am not quite sure in what manner you meant by it (are you saying one-dimensional as in from Harry's view only? Or one dimensional in the manner the story tends to move (eg. covering one central chapter theme before moving onto the next)? Or is it one dimensional in some other way?). However, whatever the one-dimensionality is that you refer to, it could indeed be due to the shorter chapters. I decided to structure the story with shorter chapters in order to properly gauge varying ideas and styles in writing and more accurately pinpoint problems within the story itself.**

**It is highly unlikely due to the lack of interest in this story that it will be continuing but thank you very much for taking your time to send me some feedback on my story.**

**Please do not judge those with review quotas so harshly in the future as they are certain to have a multitude of reasons for having them. However, I noted that you have never written any stories on your own account before. I might suggest that you try to write a short story of your own so that you can better identify with writers for whom your review. This might also offer you a new fresh viewpoint on many aspects of stories that you may be taking for granted. Whether you do or do not doesn't really matter to me, but again, thank you for taking the time to give me some feedback. On a final note, I would have preferred giving this to you via PM, but you had it disabled. I am not certain if this was kept intentionally or not, but I think it would be less like a radio and more like a telephone conversation.**

**theDictionator**


	10. Chapter 10

The flakes of snow drifted lazily through the air, sometimes fluttering up with the breeze only to settle down once more as it drifted back towards the icy earth. A lone boy stood over a ledge staring out into the whitening night. With each passing moment he seemed to grow smaller and smaller and any passing by might have thought he would surely be engulfed by the deepening snow.

Harry had long since stopped shaking from his sobs as a growing void filled his core. He couldn't feel anything anymore. No pain, no sorrow and no cold. He just continued to breathe not knowing why. More than once the thought had crossed his mind to just take one step further. A life without Hermione was the equivalent to no life at all yet death he knew would erase all consciousness of that reality. He just couldn't do it.

After what seemed like days to him, a soft crunching beat began to sound behind him. Footsteps in the icy snow. They stopped behind him and after an awkward silence, he began to feel compelled to acknowledge them, if only to tell the offending individual to leave him to his sorrows. He slowly turned around and looked up from the ground. A young girl stood before him, clad in an emerald green skiing outfit, holding two cups of hot chocolate. The girl whom he felt he would never see again slowly and silently offered him one of her cups and moved alongside him to stare out over the ledge.

As if the void within him cracked, his soul filled with emotions and all over again he began to tear up. He sipped on his hot chocolate to help muffle his pain as he stood next to the girl of his dreams. Neither spoke nor looked at the other until their drinks had long turned cold.

"Harry…" the girl spoke, "I wanted you to know how deeply you've been hurting me. I feel as though I've lost the Harry I knew and I don't know why." She swallowed and closed her long lashed eyes. "If I've done something, then tell me. I just want things back to the way they were." The pain was evident in Hermione's voice as she continued through his silence. "I paid that girl to start that rumor and I watched your reaction from the hallway. How you couldn't see me, I'll never know, but I understand you don't really hate me. I just don't understand anything it seems anymore."

She took a shaky breath and looked away as Harry bit his lip, thinking of the words he thought he could say. Suddenly, the words the man in the store had said flooded back to his mind and he grabbed Hermione's hand and looked deeply into her face. "I love you Hermione." She looked sharply at him, her eyes wide and her breath caught in her throat. "I'm just a coward who couldn't say it until I thought I'd lost you forever. You were right to do that. You've shown me what's really important to me. You before all else. I was a fool then and still am, but I'm a fool in love, if you'd have me…" His eyes bore into her own searching for any response from the girl he found himself praying wasn't just a ghost wandering confused and alone in the falling snow after a terrible accident just a short ways down the mountain…

N/A: Okay guys. I actually did not bother reading most of your hate-reviews haha. It was surprising any of you bothered to leave one at all! I decided after a long time to go ahead and finish this one (I had it all mapped out to begin with). This was always part of the original storyline, but it was the perfect place to stop for a story that seemed to be dead. I am shocked that when killing off a main character, you all rose up out of the ashes to flame me….but then I guess people would rather criticize than anything else. It is only human after all. So for all you humans who got a little bit angry about it ending the way it did and for all those more-than-humans who actually had something constructive to say for the story and writing, here's another chapter. I'll start trying to pump these out again until they are finished. Enjoy!

PS. I am dropped the review quota but I would still appreciate all your thoughts! Remember, I can't get better or know what annoys you or even know what the heck I just did right until YOU tell me! So feel free to leave me a review or PM or something to give me a clue of what to do.


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